These are built by the constant creation, refinement and application of data, which in turn create new customers and increase the return from existing ones. The importance of the role of data in this respect has never been higher, yet companies rarely put an actual market value on it.
This ebb and flow of customer data has a huge effect on profitability and hence share price, but never appears on a company statement. Millions of pounds are wasted each year on poor data practice, ineffective handling of customer complaints and inaccurate targeting.
What would change if data was on the balance sheet? First, accountability for data strategy would rise to board level, and marketing and data objectives would become part of the corporate strategic direction. All departments would have to stick to the organisational guidelines, avoiding many of the issues of data decay and its related costs.
Second, the effectiveness of performance against data in each area of the company could be measured in the form of monthly reporting on acquisition and value of corporate data assets. This would enable firms to gauge which departments are delivering more to the corporate data asset. This would need a method of translating data assets into corporate assets. For example, computers are written off after three years, when they're deemed to have lost their value. Data could be treated in the same way. This measurement could then be used in the valuation of a company.
Does it have a programme of strategic data investment which is harvesting rewards, or is this based on chaos that changes from week to week?
If data was a balance sheet item, a director's bonus payments would be related to the strategic development of this as a corporate asset. Then you really would see some action...
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